A Newfound Sense of Empathy: Taking Medicine for Dizziness or Headaches

When I got out of bed this morning, I wasn’t feeling very well. To be more specific, when I stood up, I felt a bit dizzy. The more I moved my head, the dizzier I felt. I laid down — dizzier, still. It wasn’t until I realized if I sat up, the dizzying feeling stopped. Now, this might not sound strange to a lot of you, but for me, being sick (or feeling unwell) is not something I’m familiar with.

I rarely — rarely — get sick. And when I do, it’s usually some kind of cold. The experience I had this morning was very humbling. There wasn’t a lot I could do to make myself feel better. I just sat there on the bathroom floor, trying not to think about … the things that usually happen when you’re sick. The best word I can think to describe it: humbling.

It’s important to rest when you’re sick, but when I wrote that piece, I didn’t consider the incapacitating feeling of being dizzy or having an “unusual” or abnormal feeling in your head. If your head’s not right, there really isn’t anything you can do.

I’m saying all of this because my experience this morning gave me a better understanding of why people take aspirin (or other kinds of pharmaceuticals). I suppose I’ve been rather lucky in life — I haven’t been very ill (or had many injuries). My one visit to the hospital was for taking a baseball to the face (maybe one day I’ll share that story on here). So, because I’ve had little need to take these kinds of drugs, I’ve always wondered why people appeared to be so dependent on them (I’m taking more about aspirin or things that help you when your sick, not other, more debilitating kinds of maladies/diseases). After my experience today, I have a newfound understanding for those who feel it necessary to take this kind of medicine.